Metallic street-car.



4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

PATENTED DEC. 27, 1904.

F. H. RAPLEY.

METALLIC STREET UAR.

APPLICATION FILED DEG.2-6,1903.

W1 T/VESSES No. 778,706. PATENTBD DEC. 27, 1904. F. H.,RAPLEY.

METALLIC STREET GAR.

APPLIGATIOH FILED 10150.26, 1903 4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

[NI/ENTOR PATENTED DEC. 27, 1904.

E. H. EAPLEY METALLIC sTEEET GAR.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.26, 1903.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

| O .sw &N AN- H %N I .3 NM TI 0 o a o o a a o W I l 9% m EN T. o O 0 O D O O O m 0 O CO N Aflorney 'No. 778,706. PATBNTED DEC. 27, 1904.

F. H. RAPLEY. METALLIC STREET GAR.

APPLICATION FILED DBG.26, 1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Aflomey UNTTED STATES Patented December 2'7, 1904.

ATET FFICE- FREDERICK H. RAPLEY, OF NEIV YORK, Y., ASSIGNOR TO PRESSED STEEL OAR COMPANY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORA- TION OF NEIV JERSEY.

METALLIC STREET CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 778,706, dated December 27, 1904.

Application filed December 26, 1903. Serial No. 186,678.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK H. RAPLEY, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Metallic Street-Oars, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of this invention is to provide an incombustible street car in which plate or sheet steel, pressed to shape, and rolled shapes are used throughout.

The invention comprises novel features of construction in the underframe, in the platforms, in the body, in the seats, and in the roof, all as I will proceed now more particu-' larly to set forth and linally claim.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is a side elevation with the lower portion partly broken out. Fig. 2 is a vertical section substantially through the center of the car. Fig. 3 shows in the upper half a longitudinal section on line A B, Fig. t, with the floor-plates removed and in its lower half a top plan view with the roof-plates removed. Fig. at shows on the left-hand side a transverse vertical section substantially at the center of 0 the car and on the right-hand side an end elevation.

The underframe comprises a pair of longitudinal sills 1, made up of a number of sections or diaphragms disposed between tran- 3 5 soms or transverse diaphragms 2, to which they are riveted, and a series of intermediate continuous transoms or transverse diaphragms 3 of less depth than the transoms 2 are mounted above the sills 1. End sills 4:, Fig. 2, of

4 angle cross-section, are connected with the sills 1 and their upper edges have angles 5 riveted to them on the inner sides. The floorsheets 6 are riveted to these transoms and their longitudinal edges preferably are flanged, as at 7, Fig. 1, to aid in securing the side sheets hereinafter described.

The end platforms comprise longitudinal straight sills S, which extend rearwardly beneath the end sills L and parallel with the longitudinal sills 1, and they are connected with 5 the end sills 4 by means of straps or hangers 9, and their top flanges are riveted to the bottom flanges of the longitudinal sills. The oblique platform-knees 10 are also secured to the end sills 4: by means of straps 1.1 and eX- tend rearwardly beneath the sides of the car beyond the narrow transoms 3 and are riveted to the inturned bottom flanges of the side sheets, as indicated at 12, Fig. 3. These knees 10 are of bellied construction, substantially as illustrated in the several figures of the drawings. The crown-pieces 13 are curved substantially as indicated in Fig. 3 and their sides are connected with the steps 14, as well as with the sills 8 and knees 10. The plat- 5 forms are provided with floor-plates 15, riveted to the sills and the knees and to the crown-pieces.

All of the longitudinal sills, the transoms, the platform-sills, the platform-knees, end 7 sills, and the crown pieees are preferably made of pressed-steel shapes, although rolled shapes may be substituted, and these several parts are made in the form of channels or angles set on edge with their flanges arranged horizontally. The side posts 16 also are preferably pressed shapes of channel form with their lower ends curved inwardly, so as to preserve the ordinary outline of a street-car, and these side posts are riveted to the tran- 8O soms and extend thence up to the eaves of the roof. The side sheets 17 have their lower portions curved to conform with the curves of the side posts, and their lower edges are provided with inturned flanges 18 on a level 5 with and riveted to the lower flanges of transoms 2, so as to inclose the ends of these transoms and transoms 3. The side sheets are also riveted to the side posts. The lower and upper portions of the side sheets are provided, 9 respectively, with longitudinal stiffeningbeads 19 and 20, and their upper edges are provided with inturned substantially horizontal flanges 21 at the window-openings to form window-sills. The side sheets, with their upper and lower flanges and as combined with the transoms and post, constitute, in effect, plate-girders, which serve to carry the load. The fasciae 22 are also metal sheets provided with stiffening-beads 23, inturned substantially horizontal flanges 24, forming lintels for the windows, and inwardly-projecting flanges 25 to receive the roof-sheets 26. These fasciee are riveted to the side posts.

Attached to the side posts are rafters 27, and attached to these rafters are deck-posts 28, to which in turn are connected the carlines 29, and in order to reinforce the monitor-top erected on these deck-posts gussetplates are riveted to the deck-posts and carlines. The deck-sills 31 are pressed 2- bars, and the cleclvplates 32 are also Z-bars, and these Z-bars are riveted to the deck-posts. The roof-sheets 33 are riveted to the carlines 29. The inturned flanges of the deck-sills and deck-plates form, respectively, the sills and lintels of the deck-windows.

The seats are made of metal and preferably in several parts as, for example, the seatbottoms 34, the seat-fronts 35, the backs 36, and the seat-back tops 37and these tops may be provided with horizontal portions 38,which cooperate with the horizontal portions 21 of the side plates to form the window-sills, it being understood that the seats in the instance shown run longitudinally of the sides of the car. The seats are supported by legs or uprights 39 and bottom cross-bars 40 made of angles, the legs being riveted to floor-angles 4:1 and to the seat cross-bars 40 and the said cross-bars being riveted to the side posts 16. The seat-fronts are riveted to the legs. In order to reinforce these legs 39, transverse gusset-plates 42 may be riveted to them and to the flanges of the side posts. The several sections 35, 37, 38, and 39 of the seats may have lap-joints and be riveted together, as indicated in Fig. 4.

The dashers 43 may be metal sheets secured to floor-angles 44 and have their upper edges provided with angles 45, and these angles are also secured to uprights 46, which support the platform-hood.

The platform hood comprises a how 47 made of angle metal, extending from end post to end post of the side posts 16, and receiving hood-purlins 48, also made of angle metal, to which are secured the hood-sheets 49.

A transom bottom rail 50 is made of metal in the form of a box or pocket in order to receive the door-hangers and operating mechanism, and an angle 51 is riveted to this rail and to the roof-plates and purlins.

The upper deck end transom 52 has its frame of metal, preferably angles, erected above the bottom rail. The ends 53 are made up of metal sheets and the end side posts, and they are preferably adapted. in connection with the transom bottom rail 50, to receive double sliding doors.

The interior and exterior finish of the car may be of any suitable character, and especially such as will preserve the incombustibility of the structure.

As already sufficiently indicated, the whole body of the car, including the underframe, platforms, superstructure, seats, and roof, may be made of steel plates of proper thickness and of suflicient strength to resist the strains to which it is subjected without undue increase in weight.

While the invention has been described in connection with a street-car, it is to be understood, of course, that it is not limited to that one style or class of cars, but is applicable to other styles or classes of cars, wholly or in part, and with any necessary or desirable alterations.

WVhat 1 claim is 1. An all-steel street-car, comprising an underframe having longitudinal sills, transoms to which said sills are riveted, sides flanged at their bottom edges and riveted to the transoms, side posts erected upon the transoms and to which the sides are riveted, fasciae riveted to the side posts, and a monitor-roof erected upon the side posts and fasciae.

2. An underframe for cars, comprising a main series of one-piece transoms, longitudinal sills composed of diaphragms arranged between said main transoms and riveted to them, a series of shallow one-piece transoms interposed between the main transoms and resting upon the longitudinal sills, and end sills.

3. A street-car underframe, comprising the following metallic parts, namely, a series of mainone-piece transoms, longitudinal sills composed of diaphragms arranged between said transoms and riveted to them, a series of secondary transoms secured to and above the diaphragms, said several parts being of chair nel form, and end sills of angle form.

4. A street-car underframe, comprising the following metallic parts, namely, a series of main one-piece transoms, longitudinal sills composed of diaphragms arranged between said transoms and riveted to them, a series of secondary transoms secured to and above the diaphragms, said several parts being of channel form, and end sills of angle form, com bined with floor-plates riveted to said transoms, and transverse angles connecting the floor-sheets and end sills.

5. A street-car, having a metallic underframe, and metallic sides, combined with end platforms having channel-sills and knees riveted to said underframe.

6. A street-car, having a metallic underframe provided with end sills, and end plat forms having platform-knees, and sills connected with said end sills by strapsriveted to both.

7. A metal seat for cars, comprising legs, bottom cross-bars, a seat-front, a seatbottom riveted to the front, a seat-back riveted to the bottom, and a seat-back top riveted to the back, combined with a car-body structure.

8. A metal seat for cars, comprising legs, bottom cross-bars, a seat-front riveted to the legs, a seat-bottom riveted to the front, a seatback riveted to the bottom, and a seat-back top riveted to the back, combined with a carbody structure.

9. A metal'seat for cars, comprising legs, bottom cross-bars, a seat-front, a seat-bottom riveted to the front, a seat-back riveted to the bottom, and a seat-back top riveted to the back, and forming-a portion of the sill of the adjacent window.

10. A railway-car, having metallic sides extending to the height of the Windows and having their upper edges turned inwardly, combined with metallic seats having seat-back tops provided with outwardly-flanged edges which cooperate with the upper edges of the side sheets to form the window-sills.

11. A metallic roof for cars, comprising deck-sills and deck-plates ot' Z-bar cross-section, the inwardlyextending flanges of said bars forming respectively the sills and lintels of the deck light frame.

12. In a metal car-roof, a transom-bottom rail of substantially pocket form combined With the metal end sheets and end side posts.

13. In a metal car-roof, a transom-bottom rail of substantially pocket form, combined with a platform-hood comprising purlins, a roof-sheet and a bow, and a transverse angle connecting the purlins and roof-sheet with the transom-rail.

14. In a metal car having side posts and seats constructed With legs, gusset-plates connecting said side posts and legs.

15. An all-steel street-car, having an underframe, side posts erected thereon, and side sheets beaded and flanged at their upper ends and flanged at their lower ends and beaded longitudinally between the upper and lower FREDERICK H. RAPLEY.

IVitnesses:

HARRY DEMPSEY, REGINALD H. LILEY. 

